Alliance for Education Solutions' January 2020 Newsletter

Improving the Life Chances of Vulnerable Youth

Dear AES Friends and Family,

Happy New Year! As we closed out 2019 and began 2020, our Street Team was busy advocating and inspiring other youth. Our partnerships with other organizations and community colleges allowed us to impact more young people, and we celebrated our Connecting Hearts, Expanding Minds campaign results. We could not have done this important work without your support. So thank you for being a part of our AES family. We look forward to seeing all that we will do together in 2020!

Moving Forward Together

On January 18th, AES partnered with the Sacramento Police Department , the local Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity , and the Hawk Institute to host the Purpose Beyond Policing Town Hall Event.

This event was in response to the March 2019 Breaking the Chains Youth Summit , during which youth identified police relations, mental health, and education equity as issues they want to address in our community. Our SYA-CAT continued the movement by facilitating youth workshops, hosting Voices of Change , and engaging in courageous conversations with our partners about about how Sacramento police officers and youth could begin to break down barriers and build trust.

Facilitated by the AES Street Team, Purpose Beyond Policing gave Sacramento youth and police officers the chance to share their concerns, fears, and challenges in our community. Together, they identified steps that can be taken by both to build trust and make our community stronger. The event created an appreciation of others' viewpoints, built trust between officers and youth, and established a collective plan to move forward together.

AES Empowers Boys and Young Men of Color

In 2019, AES was was honored to receive a national NYABMOC Justice Reinvestment Community Award to support our work with boys and young men of color through our cross-cultural and cross-generational programs. The funding allowed AES to hire 5 young men of color as part of our Street Team, which launched the Boys and Men of Color Workshop Series in partnership with Consumnes River College.

Recently, AES was awarded $10,000 through the My Brother’s Keeper Sacramento Mentoring Program at The Center at Sierra Health Foundation. This funding will enable AES to hire 5 additional young men of color to serve on the AES Street Team and expand our reach in 2020. We are honored to be one of the 10 amazing organizations receiving this award and look forward to collaborating with, and learning from, them as we do this important work together.

Street Team Inspires Upward Bound Students

The AES Street Team recently facilitated a training for 70 Upward Bound students at American River College. As shared by Program Director Ana, "the Street Team worked together to plan, educate, and produce a program filled with fun, laughter, and memorable moments. Our Street Team led workshops that discussed stereotypes, biases, communication, and self empowerment." Alana Smith, our 1st Voices of Change winner attended the training and shared her spoken word piece 'Melanated and Educated," giving Upward Bound students the opportunity to hear a young scholar advocating and bringing awareness to the importance of celebrating Black Culture.

AES Youth Continue Advocating for Sac Kids Fund

AES Street Team members attended the City Council Meeting in November to urge the Mayor and City Council members to support a Sacramento Children's Fund. Street Team Member Aaron represented AES and testified on behalf of placing Measure G on the March 2020 ballot. As shared by Street Team Member Sophie, "it was incredible to see so may organizations and community members standing in solidarity for our young people in Sacramento." The City Council voted in favor of placing Measure G on the March 2020 ballot. Click here to learn more about Measure G and how you can help support the Sacramento Children's Fund.

Thank You City of Sacramento!

Thanks to the City of Sacramento, youth connected to AES programs were able to attend the January 12th Globetrotters game at the Golden 1 Center . As shared by Street Team Member Rashad, "the kids loved it - t he way the Harlem Globetrotters did their tricks and slam dunks and the way they interacted with the crowd. They thanked me deeply, and it felt good to show them something that different." Thank you City of Sacramento for allowing our young people and mentors to experience this new and life changing event!

Youth Spotlight: Medelin Velazquez

Medelin joined our AES Street Team last September. As shared by Medelin, "Here in AES, we are all a family. And I’ve learned that within the AES family, we all support one another and encourage each other to strive for success. I’ve learned that I am capable of doing a lot more than I ever thought possible when it comes to helping out youth like myself. Overall, I hope to be a part of the AES Family for years to come and to continue to refine my skills in public speaking to help advocate for Sacramento Youth."

Thank YOU to our Fall Campaign Supporters!

AES' fall Connecting Hearts, Expanding Minds campaign raised over $41,000 to support vulnerable youth!

From AES' Gala of Giving to Giving Tuesday,

it is YOUR support and investment in the lives of young people that will:

Provide meals to food insecure youth at AES programs
Provide professional clothing and school supplies to young people trying to obtain a job or continue their educational pursuits
Help to sustain our programs so together we can continue to make a difference in the lives of young people

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